Main Page
Welcome to Compass – the Australian Spiritual Alliance's shared reference for spiritual, inspired and natural health practice in Australia. Compass is built in the open, by the spiritual community, for the spiritual community.
Why Compass?
Australia's spiritual community is wonderfully diverse. Practitioners draw on many traditions, lineages and ways of working, and the same practice can be described in many different ways. That diversity is a strength, but it also means there is often no shared understanding of what a practice is, or of what competent, caring practice looks like.
Compass brings practitioners, teachers, groups and the Alliance together to build that shared understanding, so that:
- practitioners can be recognised fairly and consistently for the work they do
- the public can understand what each practice offers and what to expect from a practitioner
- the community can speak with one clear voice when the Alliance advocates on its behalf.
No single person or organisation could write this alone. Compass works because the people who live and teach these practices help describe them.
What you'll find here
- Modalities
- What each modality is, its scope (and what it is not), the traditions it draws on, and the other names it is known by.
- Recognising competence
- For each modality, what a competent practitioner can demonstrate, and the pathways by which that competence can be recognised – for example recognised training, assessment by experienced practitioners, or a portfolio of practice.
- Good practice
- Shared guidance on ethics, care and conduct that applies across modalities.
Compass is new and growing. Many pages begin as drafts and are shaped through community consultation before they are approved.
How Compass works
Every page grows through open, community-minded collaboration:
- Propose – anyone taking part can suggest a new modality or a change to an existing page.
- Draft – contributors, often experienced practitioners of the modality, write and refine the page.
- Consult – the community discusses the draft. Different traditions and points of view are welcomed and heard.
- Approve – an approver appointed by the Alliance reviews the changes and approves a version. The approved version is what readers see.
- Review – approved pages are revisited from time to time and can always be improved.
Pages that don't yet have an approved version are drafts, and are clearly marked as drafts.
Our principles
- Respect for every tradition – no single tradition defines spirituality. Compass describes each practice fairly, in terms its own practitioners recognise, and without judgement of others.
- Community-led – those who practise a modality help describe it and the standards for it.
- Open and transparent – the descriptions and standards are published here for everyone to read.
- Respectful discussion – we listen generously, disagree kindly and keep the wellbeing of clients and the community at the centre.
- Always evolving – practices grow and change, and so does Compass.
Taking part
Anyone can read Compass. To join the discussions or submit changes, log in with your ASA Account using the link at the top of the page.
- Changes to an approved page are reviewed by an approver before they become the version readers see.
- New pages are visible straight away as drafts, clearly marked as not yet approved, so the community can see and discuss them. An approver approves a version once it is ready.
To add a modality, see Adding a modality. All modalities are listed in Modalities.
Questions about Compass? Email info@spiritual.org.au.
All contributions are made in the spirit of the Alliance's Code of Conduct.
About the Australian Spiritual Alliance
The Australian Spiritual Alliance is a national not-for-profit network that recognises, supports and advocates for genuine spiritual, inspired and natural health practitioners across Australia.